Deshal’s impressive new makeover
The pandemic ravaged local fashion brand has relaunched itself to reach newer heights
Nearly seventeen years ago, Deshal, entered the market with a whole host of unique ideas - faces painted on kurtis, taat or hand-loomed cotton sarees, use of wooden beads and other handicrafts in fabrics - bringing a gust of fresh air to the fashion wear industry.
And just like that, slowly but surely, their small shop on the first floor of Aziz Super Market became a haven for university students with limited pocket money, particularly for the University of Dhaka students.
Kanak Aditya and Ishrat Jahan, a couple who graduated from the Fine Arts Institute of Dhaka University, along with Sabuj Sidikki started Deshal in 2005.
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For more than a decade, Deshal focused on handcrafted ethnic products, with its own contemporary spin. Apart from wearables for men, women and kids, Deshal produced lifestyle goods and home decor items as well.
Deshal - meaning ethnic or home-bred - stayed true to its name, up to a point. All the clothes were made from our local materials (cotton and other natural fibres), and made by our local ethnic weavers as well, up until 2015.
Afterwards, the brand couldn't help but include machine-spun apparel to its collection.
Deshal's novelty wore off over the years and it began to struggle. In 2020, the business was in dire straits - like many other entities in the country - as the pandemic hit many businesses hard. Kanak and Ishrat prepared to sell off the brand.
"One of the basic characteristics of any business is, you need to let it breathe and grow. As Ishrat and I both are artists, we need that time to be with art. But a growing business needs time and attention too," said Kanak Aditya, explaining why the iconic store was failing.
When officials of one of the leading conglomerates in the country, heard Deshal was up for sale, they reached out to the owners with a unique proposition on their own.
They realised Kanak and Ishrat were pivotal to preserving the uniqueness of the brand, although they lacked the business acumen to help it grow; and they had business acumen in abundance. They pitched to Kanak and Ishrat that the founders continue to have creative control of the brand, while they entered into a partnership with them where they provide their business expertise and deeper pockets.
In 2021, Deshal officially partnered with new business partners, and the brand was relaunched in a new avatar on 1 February through a new outlet at Level 1, House 27, Road 12, Block H, Banani.
"Now because of the partnership, the responsibilities have been delegated and we hope this will help us and the brand to grow," said Kanak.
The rise, fall and rebirth of Deshal
Deshal was the brainchild of Kanak Aditya and Ishrat Jahan.
In an article published in a vernacular online publication, Kanak and Ishrat explained that instead of creating lifeless framed art-pieces hanging on walls, they wanted to create everyday art, and turn people into canvases.
"So we made the clothes our canvas."
With zero business training, Kanak and Ishrat started the brand. However, after a little while, they realised that their academic education and training in fine arts was not enough to build a business. Kanak and Ishrat then started to roam the weaving villages across the country to gather more experience.
In many ways, Kanak and Ishrat not only launched a clothing brand, but played a vital role in building a relationship between art and fashion. The primary purpose of Deshal always seemed weaved to a sense of responsibility towards the country's ethnic weavers and artisans.
With sponsorship from Deshal, Shaon Akand, another fine arts student started working on a book about weaving villages in the country and after three years of research, the book titled 'Bangladesher Tant Shilpo' (The weaving artistry of Bangladesh) was published in 2018.
In 2009, Deshal joined Deshi Dosh, a collaboration of 10 local fashion brands like Anjan's, Nipun, Kay Kraft, Rong, Banglar Mela, ShadaKaalo, Bibiyana, Prabartana and Nogordola. The common goal was to uphold the local crafts and artistry.
Kanak said that starting around 2014, Bangladeshi handicraft artistry began facing severe hardships because of the late monsoon and also the topsy-turvy the local economy was going through back then.
Even as late as 2018, Deshal was still struggling with the losses suffered during that period.
"The brand struggled even more after the Covid-19 pandemic. That's when Kanak and Ishrat decided to sell their business," said Tashaffi Khan, the present director and chief business officer of Deshal.
However new investors showed interest and instead of buying it completely, they proposed a partnership in September 2021. Within three months, Deshal and the new investors became official partners.
According to the deal, 60% of the shares are owned by the new investors while Kanak and Ishrat hold the rest, Khan informed us.
They are now taking care of the business side of Deshal, and Kanak Aditya and Ishrat Jahan are taking care of the creative side. Ishrat is the primary designer, leading a team of 12 people and Kanak supervises the overall design production.
A new avatar
"Deshal has more than 200 local artisans and weavers around the country working for the brand. Keeping that part intact, we have now expanded the product range with fast fashion lines, but without moving away from the original mantra of making each product comfortable, durable and affordable," said Tashaffi Khan.
He added that the brand is upgrading itself with new textile technology, RMG-made modern fabrics, and new printing methods and patterns. And with that, the target demographic is also expanding.
"Earlier, mainly young adults, college-university students and the middle-income group people were our TG [Target Group]. But now, with the changing needs of the market, we have decided to expand the bracket for a wider consumer base.
For example, for the first time, Deshal is bringing knit-wares targeting the Generation Z; premium materials like silk, Benarasi, Jamdani and other high-end products for upper-income brackets have been added to our repertoire," said Kanak.
Currently, the brand has seven outlets in the country, including the one launched yesterday. They are planning to open two more - one in Dhaka's Mohammadpur and another in Bogura. And by the end of 2023, the brand plans to open more than 20 outlets across the country.
"Along with the physical stores, we are working on e-commerce and affiliate marketing projects as well. In short, we want to gradually increase our retail footprint across the country," said Tashaffi Khan.
With this new business model, will Deshal still be with Deshi Dosh? To this Kanak Aditya replied, "Of course. Being with 10 others makes us stronger, and we don't want to let go of that privilege."
Targeting the upcoming Spring festival (Pohela Falgun), Valentines Day and the Eid-ul-Fitr, the brand is bringing out new designs and products.
